Chasing Fate
by RoniMikaelson
Summary: Life for Alexia and Emma Swan is not a fairytale. But when the twins find themselves in a strange place called Storybrooke on their twenty-eighth birthday, everything gets twisted. Emma is a prophesied Savior and Alexia finds herself caught up in the battle between good and evil with no clear destiny. As everything falls apart, Alexia's left to find who she truly is On Hiatus
1. The End

**_Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I do not own_**

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 _The Enchanted Forest_

Screams split the once peaceful air of Snow White and Prince Charming's bedroom. Snow lied on the bed, held partially upright by her husband, her chest heaving with each breath she took.

"I... can't... have this baby now." She gasped out.

"Doc, do something." Charming pleaded as the trusted dwarf dabbed at the queen's forehead with a cool cloth. Without waiting for a response from the dwarf, Charming turned his attention to back to his wife. "It's going to be okay. The wardrobe's almost finished. Just... hold on." He begged quietly. He agreed wholeheartedly with her: she couldn't have their baby so soon.

As Snow threw her head back and let out another scream, the door flew open and Geppetto appeared with his son at his side.

"It's ready. It will take two." The old man announced. Charming opened his mouth to protest; it had been made very clear that the wardrobe would only take one. Their entire plan rested on that fact. But then his eyes trailed down to the man's son, who stood against him, holding his hand, and Charming understood immediately. As much as he wanted to be angry with the old man for lying to them in the first place, he understood. He wanted to save his child. If anyone could understand that, it was Charming. Yet, inexplicably, he was choosing a different course of action.

"Thank you." Charming whispered, barely sure the man could hear him. But Geppetto nodded in response and and he and his son hurried away again. Charming turned to Snow. "Did you hear that? It's ready." He started to pick her up, but Doc rushed over.

"It's too late. We can't move her!"

The next few moments were a blur for Charming. He was vaguely aware of Doc coaching Snow through the contractions and much more acutely aware of the thunder and lightning approaching, signaling the curse that was causing the storm. He held Snow up, letting her brace herself against him as she screamed bloody murder over and over. His thoughts were chaotic and he felt powerlessness to help her, or his kingdom as a whole. He had had more control herding sheep and chickens than he did over this situation and he hated it more than anything.

A baby's cries cut though his thoughts like a sword. His head snapped up as Doc handed a baby over to Snow. Emma was already wrapped up in her blanket with her name on it and Snow held their daughter to her chest for warmth. Charming couldn't help but let out a relieved laugh; their daughter was there, safe and healthy. In that moment, he forgot about everything else going on around them.

That moment ended abruptly when Snow's smiling expression contorted into one of pain again.

"Take the baby." She gasped, shoving Emma into Charming's arms. "There's another baby." She panted through another contraction.

Doc was back beside her in an instant and Charming watched as Snow pushed through more contractions. He held a squirming Emma in his arms, as aware of her cries as he was of his wife's. Another couple of panicked filled minutes passed before he heard another baby crying and Snow collapsed against his shoulder in exhaustion.

Their second baby, another girl, was wrapped up in a warm blanket and handed to Snow. She held her second daughter close and kissed her head even as her eyes drooped with exhaustion. Some part of he was filled with happiness she couldn't even begin to describe. Another part of her felt awful she hadn't known she was having twins. Twins, she'd heard, ran in a family. Her husband had been a twin. More to the point, she'd carried them inside her for nine months. She couldn't believe she had never felt it. Or, perhaps she had. She remembered moments where she felt like she was being kicked in two places at once. Moments where she'd sensed something she couldn't explain. She didn't have her mother there to tell her how everything should feel, but now she wished she'd gotten up the courage to ask Granny, or one of the other many mothers around the castle.

She snapped out of her guilty thoughts enough to realize Charming was leaning against her, providing her with a better look at Emma while giving himself a better look at their second daughter. She couldn't keep her eyes on one of them for long; she always looked over at the other, trying to memorize everything about them. Emma's tiny nose and dark peach fuzz hair. Alexia's dark green eyes and tiny little mouth.

"What should we name her?" Snow asked quietly, not wanting to disturb their daughters as they were finally settling down in their arms.

"Alexia." Charming suggested, keeping his voice low as well.

"Emma and Alexia." The names rolled off her tongue as easily as if she'd been saying them her whole life and she couldn't help but smile and nod in agreement.

As she held her daughter on her arms, her husband and first born daughter against her shoulder, a horrible thought occurred to her. Slowly, she looked up, tearing her eyes away from her daughters, and sucked in a breath.

"The wardrobe... It only takes two." She spoke her horrible thought and Charming raised his eyes to meet hers, his smile fading.

The sounds of swords clanging against each other sounded in the hall outside and both of them turned instinctively towards the door. The Evil Queen's men were already in the castle... Snow held Alexia closer, as weak form of protection from the black knights just outside their door.

"Then our plan has failed." Charming's voice sounded shaky; Snow kept her eyes on her daughters to avoid seeing what she could only imagine was a horrified look on his face. "At least we're together." His voice sounded stronger then, as if he'd accepted their fate just like that.

"No." Snow's voice came out stronger than she'd expected and she caught Charming's attention immediately. "You have to take them. Take the babies to the wardrobe."

"Are you out of your mind?"

"No. It's the only way. You have to send them through." She raised her voice, hoping to be heard over him repeating 'no' over and over again.

"You don't know what you're saying." He tried to insist.

"No, I do! We have to believe that they will come back for us! We have to give them their best chance." Those words seemed to resonate deep within for Charming, as his shoulders sagged, the argument over with just that motion. Snow looked away from his heartbroken expression, reaching past him for the parchment and writing quill on her desk. Watching her husband kiss both their children out of the corner of her eye, she wrote down Alexia's name in the neatest font she could manage with a shaking hand. Then she ripped the parchment into a small piece and busied herself pinning it to Alexia's blanket, the only form of identification she could manage in such a short time.

Trying to stop the tears streaming down her face, he bent over to kiss Alexia's head and then Emma's.

"Goodbye." She whispered, knowing and hating that they didn't understand her or know what was happening to them. She placed Alexia in the crook of Charming's arm, pressed against Emma who was in turn pressed against Charming's shoulder. It kept his sword hand free. And Snow knew he would need it.

Charming had tears in his eyes as he looked at her and Snow fought back the sob in her chest. There was no time for crying when their children were in danger of a horrible curse. They just had to trust that their daughters would find them. Through magic, destiny or whatever it had to be. They _had_ to find them.

Charming leaned over and kissed Snow. She pulled him closer, trying to make the kiss last as long as possible, a sinking feeling in her chest as she realized it might be the last they shared for years, but then they both pulled away. With one last look back, Charming took his sword and vanished into the hall, taking with him the last view Snow had of her daughters. As his footsteps faded and disappeared, Snow let the sobs she'd been holding in rip through her, pain slicing into her heart like she had never imagined pain could.

Hurrying through the halls, Charming could hear the sounds of fights all around him. He kept moving towards the nursery, trying to stay alert but not think about the death around him at the same time. He rounded a corner and stopped in his tracks as one of his men fell to the ground with a sword wound through his chest. Two black knights stood between him and the nursery. Charming glanced down at the precious bundles in his arms and then charged.

Few things had come naturally to Charming. At one time in his life, he thought the only thing he'd ever be good at was herding sheep. But sword fighting was natural to him, he'd learned. With one hand, he blocked and parried strikes, slashing out with a few vicious attacks of his own. It was like muscle memory for him by that point; no extra thought needed. Then, as if in slow motion, he saw a sword swinging down towards his daughters. He blocked it and kicked the knight away, but that one fearful second had thrown him off. He slashed at one of the knights but, by the time he'd turned again, he was greeted by a sword slicing through his shoulder, barely missing Emma and Alexia in the process. He yelled in pain but managed to stab his sword into the knight and kill him.

Stumbling, with his sword hand pressed against the fresh wound, he kicked open the door to the nursery and ran in. The wardrobe was sitting across from the crib and he rushed over. He used his foot to open the doors and then kneeled down on the cold floor, dropping his sword in favor of being able to gently put his daughters down in the wardrobe. Charming leaned down and pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads and leaned back against his heels.

"Find us." He whispered. Then he shut the doors and scrambled to lock it behind them.

Footsteps thundered towards him and he grabbed his sword, scrambling to his feet. Fighting with an injured shoulder against the two black knights in front of him didn't help him, natural talent or not. Within seconds, pain shot through his stomach. He looked down at the sword blade sticking out from his rib-cage in shock. The room spun and he found himself lying on the floor with no memory of the impact. He turned his head with the last of his strength and saw one of the black knights hammering on the lock to the wardrobe, trying to force it open.

As the lock broke and the doors swung open. The wardrobe was empty.

With a ghost of a smile on his face, Charming let his eyes close and the darkness take him...

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 **A/N I'm so glad you've decided to click on my story and read the first chapter. Thank you! If you could take a few seconds to drop a review, that would make my day!**

 **As you can probably tell, this is an AU story. Some things will be changed directly because of Alexia's actions in the future, some will be changed merely because I, as the writer, want them to be and it has little to do with what Alexia herself does. I hope you'll continue reading each new chapter to see what changes are made and explore this new story.**

 **I can't promise regular updates on this but, as its my current writing project, they will come fairly quickly. I intend to go through all the seasons (because I never do anything halfway) and I hope that you'll stick around to read all of those episodes that I rewrite.**

 **Thank you in advance for any following, favoriting or reviewing that I sincerely hope you do!**

 **~ RoniMikaelson**


	2. A Tale Of Two Sisters

**_Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I do not own_**

 **A/N This is kind of short (by my standards) but it's just a prologue part 2 of sorts, summarizing their early life as opposed to going through it scene by scene. I hope you enjoy! Please feel free to review and tell me what you think or PM me with any questions you might have about the story!**

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In late October, 1983, two baby girls were found on the side of the road. Freezing and with no sign of family, they were found by a passing motorist and taken to a nearby hospital. One had the name Emma sewn into her blanket, the other had a piece of paper announcing her name pinned to her blanket. No amount of investigations or blood tests told who their parents were. They were shipped off to the foster care system, the mystery swept into the back of everyone's minds.

By 1986, the little girls were in a group home. Their foster parents had had their own baby and, evidently, saw no use for the twin girls anymore. The only thing they kept from that home was the last name of 'Swan'. Because, after a while, even their memories of a place they'd thought was home faded away.

One day in 1991, they had a stroke of good luck. They had just gotten back from another failed foster home when Alexia found a book in their room at the group home. It was just sitting on a shelf in the closet, as if it were unimportant. Yet it seemed magical to her. It was full of fairy-tales retold. The princesses saved the princes and love always won out. It was an open ending with a prophecy about a girl that would one day come back to save her parents and kingdom from a powerful curse as the Savior. Emma had her baby blanket for comfort; that book became Alexia's comfort.

As 1993 rolled around, Emma and Alexia had learned not to hope for happy endings and Prince Charming's and true loves... They just didn't exist in a brutally real world and they were kidding themselves if they thought they did. The real world was fist fights in the yard of the group home. The real world was Emma getting her glasses broken by a bully and then _her_ getting in trouble breaking his nose in return. It was abandonment issues and trust issues and emotional trauma. It was Alexia isolating herself and wishing she was the character in her favorite books instead of herself. It was the two of them holding each other and crying themselves to sleep because they wanted their parents _so badly_.

In 1999, they'd had more than a few encounters with police and therapists. And they were also officially on the run. They were done with foster parents who didn't want them. Or, worse, crazy people who did. If they had learned anything in their sixteen years of life, it was that the only people they could rely on was each other. So, with a flower tattoo on Emma's wrist and a heart tattoo on Alexia's, and a new shared sense of freedom, they committed to their lives of shoplifting and running.

In 2000, the turn of the century, came a turn in their life. Grand theft auto hadn't been in the original plan, but it quickly became obvious it was their best option. Stealing a stolen car? Classic bad luck. Meeting Neal Cassidy? Unusual sign they still had some good luck left. He became family to them, a family that they finally believed could work. He was Emma's lover, a sign that someone could love her despite her many issues. He was the closest thing Alexia had to a brother, someone to protect her like family should.

That year, everything went right. There was adventure like Alexia wanted. There was love like Emma needed. There was everything they wanted, despite no stable home or parents or anything they'd thought they'd wanted years ago.

Then everything fell apart.

It was simple. Get the watches, Neal would sell them, they'd be on their way to Tallahassee as promised. Alexia gave Neal her bag to carry the watches in so he wouldn't be carrying around a decade old duffel bag that looked ready to fall apart anyway. Then they waited for him to return in an old parking structure in the middle of the night. And they waited... and waited...

Eventually, they had to admit one painfully brutal truth: Neal Cassidy wasn't coming back. Emma and Alexia were on their own once more because he had left them just like everyone else in their life always had. The one person they had thought they could trust had stabbed them in the back. And it hurt like nothing else had in their lives.

The turn of the century brought another gut wrenching turn before they'd even got over the first. Emma was pregnant with Neal's child. At seventeen, it was a turn that Emma didn't think she could handle. Giving the baby up for adoption seemed to be his best chance. It was Alexia who convinced her otherwise. Alexia reminded Emma of their own lives. Yes, there was a chance that Emma's baby would be adopted into a happy home and have a perfect live. But there was a chance that he'd end up just like them, alone and bitter and wondering why their parents could ever leave them alone. But, if the baby stayed with them, there was a guarantee that they'd be loved by a mother and aunt that would do anything for them. They had no permanent home aside from the car and Emma had had her heart stomped on so hard she wasn't sure it still worked. But Alexia wasn't going to let her make the wrong decision, not in that particular instance.

And Emma listened to her. She couldn't condemn her own baby to the life that she and her sister had lived. She couldn't live with herself if she did, even if a small part of her still believed she wasn't fit to be a mother. She had to try, because she knew just being wanted would've been an upgrade to her and Alexia's life. And she wanted her baby.

In August, 2001, Alexia Swan became an aunt to a bouncing baby boy. Emma cried as she held him for the first time, the first tears she'd let out since Neal had left them and connected to a completely different emotion. She couldn't imagine leaving her little boy behind and knew that adoption was out, completely and utterly. Her baby was hers and he always would be.

Emma and Alexia brainstormed ideas for names together. Emma hadn't truly thought about names before, but it was a pressing matter once he was born. She wanted her sister's input; after all, Alexia was the only reason she'd decided to keep her baby boy and enabled her to name him herself. Eventually, they agreed that Emma would pick out the first name and Alexia would choose the middle name.

By the end of the night, the baby boy was named Henry Wayne Swan. Emma thought the name Henry was a classic and, for whatever reason, was determined to give him a classic sounding name. Alexia choose another classical name that Emma didn't completely hate. She would just have to remember not to tell Emma she'd chosen to name her nephew after Batman. Naming brainstorm aside, they were happy. He was theirs, something tiny and innocent for them to protect against the world they knew to be cruel and unforgiving. That was more important than anything else they'd ever done. And, Neal or no Neal, they were happy.

Emma wanted to be a better person for Henry. Their days of crime was over. Emma got a job in retail, a temporary position while she earned her GED and went to the police academy. It seemed somehow natural to her, going from being a criminal to catching them. It was dangerous, sure, but she couldn't picture herself just sitting behind a desk going through paperwork all day.

As for Alexia, she went a different route that fit her own need for wildness: nightclubs. She was a D.J, able to combine her love for music and her love for parties in a way that paid and gave her enough time to read the pile of books she was dying to finish.

Together, they earned paycheck after paycheck and, eventually, they had enough to rent an apartment. They moved out of the car, a relief because the bug was _not_ meant to be lived in by two teenagers and a newborn, and into something they could call a home. Two bedrooms, one bath, small and a bit run-down, but good enough to live in. Tallahassee was out but Phoenix was more than good enough. And, just like the mythological bird the city was named after, they were rising from the ashes of their old life and shaking off the burns they'd received during it.

Neal had shattered Emma's heart when he left. He damaged Alexia as well, though she played it like she didn't truly care about any of it beyond him probably pawning the book, _her_ magic little book, that was in her bag. Yet, slowly, they were getting over it. Emma was a mother, too young to have to deal with a screaming baby in the middle of the night but too in love to complain. Alexia was curbing her wild child habits for the sake of said screaming baby, though part of her did miss the adrenaline rush of being on the run from the law.

Happy ever afters didn't exist. But maybe, just maybe, they'd made something close enough...


	3. Moments In Time

**_Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I do not own_**

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 _2004, Tallahassee_

Emma was a liar. And Alexia knew it. She knew her sister better than anyone. Sometimes, she thought she knew Emma better than she knew herself. Emma said she wanted to be in Tallahassee to give Henry the 'dream living' they'd been denied. But Alexia knew better. She saw that distant look in Emma's eyes, that wandering gaze, the frowns that only disappeared when she was distracted. Granted, with a three year old that had a fascination with Hulk and smashing was running around a very small apartment, distracts came easily. But Alexia still saw them. She saw them and connected the morbid dots until she knew exactly what was bringing her sister down.

Emma was waiting for Neal.

Alexia could have said a lot of things the night she sat down on the couch next to her sister, Henry tucked safely in bed. She could've gone the tough love route and told her to get over it. But Alexia knew that wouldn't help. That was what they'd been told their whole life. Get over it. Be grateful for what you had, not what you didn't. Alexia wasn't going to be one of the people that pretended Emma wasn't in pain just because it didn't make much sense. She could've merely offered to listen to whatever Emma wanted to say. But Emma wasn't a talkative person, not when it came to emotions anyway.

So Alexia decided to go halfway between the two. A way for Emma to get over it without being insensitive.

"You should write down everything you want to say to Neal in a letter." Alexia didn't beat around the bush; she and Emma loved each other too fiercely to ever kid each other, even for a moment. It had been an agreement they'd made long ago. Honesty before anything else.

Emma scoffed, crossing her arms against her chest and leaning back against the couch cushions. Her eyes didn't leave the wall. It was a fascinating wall, Alexia reasoned, if one was fascinated by solid white drywall. Emma was still in her jeans, boots and tank top, red leather jacket hanging from a hook by the door, blonde hair loose but still somewhat styled. Alexia had opted for her Batman themed pajama shorts and tank top set, her own dark hair falling in tangled almost-curls.

"And mail it where?"

"Nowhere." Alexia answered simply. "Burn it. It's a ceremonial thing. A way to get over grief."

"And where did you read that?" Emma asked, her tone some odd place in between curiosity and boredom.

"The internet. Great place. Just don't look at my Google history." That made Emma chuckle and Alexia smiled at her small victory.

For a moment, Emma didn't move. She just sat on the couch, staring at the wall. Alexia said nothing else; the idea was planted in her sister's mind and it would do more harm than good to try and push it. Instead, Alexia tore out a page from the notebook on her lap and shifted herself onto the floor to write at the coffee table. Emma still said nothing. Then, with a barely audible sigh that Alexia pretended not to notice, Emma copied her movement and tore out a page for herself.

Alexia wrote for a minute or so, then folded the paper and left the room. Emma still sat on the floor, pencil poised in her hand but no words on the page. She debated the stupidity of the idea for another long moment. Writing down her _feelings_ for someone who will never read it? Yet the idea of burning something was intriguing, so she forced herself to write a couple shorts sentences. The words came easier after that, her mind racing with all the things she'd wished she'd been able to scream at him in person. She put too much force into her writing and broke the tip of the pencil, so she took the one her sister had been using.

By the time Alexia returned, Emma had written on the page front and back. She signed her name, feeling a bit stupid doing so, and looked up. Alexia held up a lit candle that Emma didn't even know they'd had and a metal mixing bowl. Setting both objects down on the table, Alexia held up her page and unfolded it so that Emma could see what she'd written.

In big letters that took up two lines instead of one, all caps, she'd written two simple sentences: THE ONLY GOOD THING YOU GAVE US WAS HENRY. AND YOU TOOK MY BOOK, YOU GIT!

"Git?" Emma asked aloud.

"Yes. It's British. Like all the good books." Rather than start a _long_ discussion about Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Narnia, Emma nodded as if in agreement. She looked down at her own letter, which she was covering with her hand.

"Should I show you mine?"

"That's between you and the fire." Alexia shrugged. Emma smiled gratefully at her sister. Alexia put her letter to the flame and then threw it into the metal bowl to watch it burn. Emma carefully folded her letter and held it to the flame as well. It caught quickly and Emma threw it into the bowl on top of the other letter.

The twins settled back on the heels, watching the letters burn. It was odd, but Emma did feel better. Neal wasn't coming to Tallahassee. Waiting for him was useless. If she ever saw him again... Well, she wasn't sure what would happen. Maybe it was better if she never saw him again. That outcome was more likely anyway.

So Emma sat back and watched the letters burn, along with any dream of living happily ever after with Neal.

* * *

 _2006, New Orleans_

Music seemed to vibrate through the streets like a minor-league earthquake. Alexia danced her way down the side walk. She liked New Orleans; it was like Mardi Gras everyday for them. They really knew how to party.

She danced her way right up the steps to the apartment building she and Emma lived in, regretfully leaving the parade for who-knew-or-cared-what behind her on the street. By the time she'd gotten into the apartment they were calling home, her smile faded into a frown. Emma was leaning against the counter, looking ready to throw up.

"Emma? What's wrong? Where's Henry?" Alexia's stomach was in knots as she dropped her bag on the floor and hurried over to her sister. Emma just shook her head, brushing her hair back with slightly shaking hands.

"He asked about his father." She finally said, barely above a whisper. Alexia leaned against the counter opposite of Emma.

"Do you want me to have this conversation?" She offered. Emma looked at her, considering it. Then she shook her head.

"No. I'm the mother, I have to do this... Someday."

"What did you tell him to hold him off?"

"I said I'd tell him when he was older." Emma grimaced at Alexia's look; she knew she could've come up with something better, but she'd panicked. "He only asked because 'all the other kids have daddies'." Emma added an explanation.

"Since when did our kid become an insufferable brat?"

"Alexia!" Emma protested, fighting back a smile. Alexia just grinned and walked out of the kitchen.

"I'm going to talk to him."

"Alexia-." Emma started after her, eyes wide with fear.

"Not about Neal." Alexia waved off her worry and disappeared down the short hallway. She knocked once on Henry's door and then walked in without waiting for an invite. She was his aunt; she did what she wanted. One time, she'd grabbed him by his ankles and hung him upside down until he admitted Batman was awesome. Another time, she'd stayed home from work and comforted him while he puked into a trash can. She was flexible like that.

Henry was sitting on his floor, playing with Avengers action figures. Alexia had bought him a ton of Justice League action figures, but he preferred Marvel over DC. She worried about that kid sometimes...

"Hey." She greeted him, walking and settling down on the floor in front of him. He wordlessly offered her the Captain America action figure and she took it, humoring him and making the figure fight against Iron Man, which was really just banging the two together.

"Mommy won't talk about my daddy."

"Nope." Alexia popped the 'p' in the word and left it at that.

"Will you?"

"Someday." She compromised. He stuck out his lip, pouting. She sighed and dropped the action figure, reaching over to take his from him as well. She took his chin in her hand and made him look at her, which was hard since he was just stubborn as Emma and her combined. Once she'd caught his eyes, she continued: "I will tell you one thing."

Henry's face lit up, thinking he'd won. Alexia and Emma were really working on the 'no means no' thing with him, but he still wasn't getting that they weren't prone to changing their minds just because he pouted about it. Alexia kept her face straight, letting him know she wasn't breaking and giving him what he wanted.

"I'll tell you that your mommy loves you more than anything in this entire universe. And so do I. And, for right now, that is all you need to know. Okay?" She let go of his chin and he nodded solemnly. Standing up, Alexia offered her hand for him to get up and hold. Henry debated it, looking down at his toys, and then he stood up and took her hand.

"Where're we going?"

"You are going to go hug your mom because she loves you and then we'll get some cookies and go watch the parade." Henry grinned a partially toothless smile.

"Okay!"

* * *

 _2009, Philadelphia_

New apartment, new job... same miserable work days. Alexia's DJ days were over. Her waitressing had only lasted long enough for her to realize she wasn't as much of a people-person as she'd thought. The teacher's assistant route? Apparently she had no patience for any kid other than her nephew and calling kids idiots for eating glue wasn't considered 'acceptable'. Working in a library had sounded awesome; being surrounded by books all day and telling people to be quiet was like a dream job. But apparently you weren't supposed to play ACDC on top volume in the back office. She knew her current job at Starbucks was going to go down the drain too. There was only so much confused yelling she could take in one day.

Alexia tugged her hair out of its ponytail as she walked into the apartment, the smell of dinner hitting her. For other people, that would be nice, but considering it was Emma and Henry making dinner, it just smelled burnt. Alexia couldn't judge; the only thing she could claim to be able make was eggs and toast and last time Henry had complained her eggs were 'crunchy' and 'chewy' at the same time, so...

Alexia walked into the kitchen to witness Emma trying to salvage a grilled cheese sandwich and Henry holding a can of coke over the sink as it fizzed and foamed over the top like someone had thrown it into a washing machine a minute before. She didn't want to know what had happened there...

"So... Order out for pizza?" Alexia asked. Henry looked up hopefully but Emma shook her head in stubborn determination.

"No, no, we're fine." She cut off the last burnt edge and put the sandwich on a plate with other semi-salvaged grilled cheese sandwiches. Looking proud of herself, she put the platter on the table and they all gathered around to eat.

There was a couple minutes of comfortable silence, drinking coke and eating grilled cheese sandwiches, the girls absentmindedly wondered if they should start instilling healthier eating habits in Henry. While on her second sandwich, Emma finally spoke up to fill the silence:

"I was thinking of changing jobs." Both Henry and Alexia looked up, the same look of surprise spread across their faces.

"To what?" Alexia questioned, stuffing the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth.

"Bounty hunting..." Emma let that sit in the air for a minute, watching her sister's expression carefully. Being a police officer was considered a dangerous job, especially in big cities like they loved to live in. She could only imagine what her sister would say to her wanting to catch the bad guys single-handedly. But she couldn't take being the new rookie officer every time they moved, spending more time fetching coffee than actually doing her job.

Henry perked up as the words sunk in.

"Like Bobba Fett?" His obsession over the Avengers was dwindling, but his obsession with Star Wars was in full swing.

"Not with the suit, but yeah." Emma agreed, smiling at the sight of his happy expression.

"I say do what you want." Alexia put in and Emma turned to look at her, wiping her hands on a napkin.

"Really?"

"What, you thought I was going to say stick to your current job? You do know how many pages my resume is now, right?" Alexia stood up and started gathering the empty plates, moving the last sandwich onto Harry's plate, much to his joy. Emma grabbed the dirty napkins and followed her into the kitchen.

Once they were out of Henry's line of sight, Emma leaned in to whisper to her sister.

"I know it's kind of dangerous-."

"But you can't do boring work like me." Alexia finished with a smirk, starting to load the plates into the dishwasher.

"I wouldn't call you boring." Emma assured her. Impulsive, imaginative, fun, yes. Boring, never.

"You walk out that door every morning with a gun on your belt. Danger is like your middle name. Hey. We need to think up middle names for each other!" Alexia's eyes grew wide, as if it had never occurred to her that they didn't have middle names, or at least not ones they knew of. Emma had to admit that it never occurred to her either, but she couldn't find herself caring as much as Alexia obviously did. She opened her mouth to restart their conversation, since her entire goal was to get Alexia's honest opinion on the matter, but realized she already had. Alexia didn't have any deep, meaningful comments to say. She'd said 'do what you want' which, for most people, was a dangerous thing from a woman. But with Alexia, it meant just that. Do it. If you regret it, you've learned your lesson. If you love it, great. Sometimes Emma wished she could take that same care-free approach to life that her sister did.

So, instead, Emma smiled and humored her sister.

"Emma Danger Swan? Doesn't flow very well."

"What'cha talking about?" Henry asked, hurrying into the kitchen with his empty plate. Emma just shook her head with a laugh.

"Nothing. Come on, let's go over your homework, kid."


	4. Wild Child

**_Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I do not own_**

* * *

 _2010, Boston_

Alexia was bored. Not just in a way that could be solved with a video game competition with Henry or rereading Lord of the Rings for the hundredth time. She was bored in a way that made her think of doing crazy things she didn't really want to think about... Or maybe she did and she just didn't want Emma to know she thought about it...

The idea was nagging at her as she stretched out on the couch in their Boston apartment, laptop on her lap. Her eyes were glued to the screen, but she managed to look up and shut the laptop when she heard Emma walking over to her. The blonde looked tired from her own long day of bounty hunting and collapsed on the couch by Alexia's feet.

"The kid's out for the night." Henry was insisting he was too old to be 'tucked in by mom' but he was still young enough to insist on Emma reading him a story before he went sleep.

"Good." Alexia tapped her fingers against the top of her laptop. Emma looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Was I interrupting your reading of a steamy fanfiction?" She asked with a laugh.

"Research." Alexia corrected her, kicking half-heartedly at Emma. Interest piqued, Emma shifted to face her sister.

"On what?" Alexia merely shrugged in response. Emma frowned. "Alexia... What are you thinking?"

"Just... I wanna do something."

"What?"

"I dunno. Something!" Alexia put her laptop down on the coffee table and stood up to start pacing. Emma climbed to her feet again to stand and watch her, confusion written all over her face. Her sister wasn't one to just sit still, but full-on pacing was something new and definitely something concerning for Emma.

"Alexia, what are you thinking?" She asked gently. It was the fastest way to get Alexia to talk. She didn't want her sister to try to explain anything or make it make sense, just talk and Emma would connect the dots herself. Alexia looked at her with a sigh and then let out the torrent of words she'd obviously be holding back:

"You're a mother and a bounty hunter and an amazing, beautiful person and I love you. But I don't know what I am." She paused and Emma kept her mouth shut for a second to make sure her sister was actually done for a moment.

"You're my sister and a bartender and an aunt and... Well, I am the prettier sister but you're not bad yourself." Emma teased. Alexia shot her a look that didn't seem completely angry, more like barely hiding her own amusement.

"I just want to do some soul searching. Figure out what I want to be. I'm almost twenty-seven and I haven't held a job for more than three months." Alexia complained, tugging on her braid nervously.

"Because your emotions work faster than your brain." Emma felt obligated to point out. Her sister was like a cat and new, exciting jobs were like a string being pulled away from her.

"Emma." Now Alexia was pleading for her to be quiet and listen. Emma sat back down on the couch and motioned for her to continue. "You know how characters always have to go on an adventure before they know who they really are? Bilbo had to go to fight in the Battle of the Seven Armies before he knew what kind of Hobbit he was. And Edmund was a jerk before he went to Narnia. And Percy didn't even know he was anything other than a screw-up before he had to save his mom from Hades and get Zeus's lightning bolt back! Granted, he's still kind of a screw-up afterwards but he's still a hero with Annabeth and Grover and-."

"Alexia." Emma gently interrupted to set her sister back on track.

"I want to go on an adventure. I want to breathe in foreign air and figure out who I am and what my life is about." Alexia admitted in a gush, like it was some huge secret. Honestly, Emma could've guessed it herself after her little speech about fictional characters.

"Where are you thinking?" Emma asked quietly, giving her sister her best supportive smile.

"England."

"Of course." Emma laughed; the only thing stronger than her sister's love for fictional adventures and music was definitely her love for anything British.

"And the rest of Europe, of course. I want see some of the wonders of the world. I wanna... I don't know. Just _go_. Have my spirit quest." Alexia went and sat down next to Emma on the couch again. She pulled her laptop back on her lap and opened it again to show her sister what she'd been looking at before.

Emma stared at the screen where Alexia had been calculating costs. A plane ticket, food costs, possible bus fares and other expenses... It added up fast when all put together, but it wasn't completely out of reach. They had never been actually rolling in money but they were pretty cheap when it came down to it and both of them worked full time.

"I know it's a lot of money but I think my savings can cover it if I stretch it and-."

"I'll provide the rest." Emma interrupted. Alexia looked at her in surprise. "Call it an investment involving my sister's future."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'll spot the money to you. We'll be staying in Boston a while; I don't see any huge things we need to take care of right now and-." Emma was cut off by Alexia tackling her against the couch in a hug. Emma laughed and returned the gesture.

"Thank you!"

"Of course. You're right, you know." Alexia pulled away and Emma sat up straighter, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I know what my life is about. I'm a mother and a bounty hunter and I like all of it. I'm happy. You deserve to be happy too." It was a rare moment of touching sincerity; they were honest with each other and weren't above getting emotional but it was still rare. Emma tried to be 'more mature' than that; she didn't like sitting and talking about feelings like silly teenage girls.

"I am happy here, Emma, it's just-."

"You know you could be even happier." Emma finished. Alexia nodded in agreement. Rubbing her sister's shoulder in comfort, the blonde stood up and let out a low sigh. Alexia watched as she stretched and then headed for her bedroom. At the last second, Emma turned back to Alexia with a gentle smile she usually reserved for Henry. "I hope you find what you're looking for. Get the plane ticket, pack your things, be out by the weekend if that's what you want. Just don't forget to send a postcard now and then."

* * *

Henry was nine years old; he prided himself on being the 'man of the house' despite his young age. The self-proclaimed 'man of the house' didn't cry. There was just something in his eyes and it happened to coincide with Alexia leaving for her self-discovery quest.

Alexia stood by the door, looking more excited than they had ever seen her; she was practically vibrating as she bounced on her heels. She'd chopped off her hair into a bob that was 'more adventurous' and wore cargo pants and an old henley shirt. Her usual dark eye make-up was left off; Emma thought her green eyes looked better without it. Her shirt sleeves were pushed up to her elbows and the heart tattoo on her wrist, a literal heart on her sleeve, could easily been seen.

They'd called a cab to take her to the airport. It was early, too early for Alexia usually but she was making an exception. Emma had hauled herself out of bed as well for the sake of seeing her sister off, even making herself presentable in jeans and a sweater. Henry hadn't quite had the energy to get dressed, so he stood there with his bed-head and Captain America pajamas, wiping at his eyes and sniffing.

Emma and Alexia hugged around the duffel bag hanging from the brunette's shoulder. It was packed with clothes and an uncharacteristically small amount of books, though Emma doubted she'd get bored on her trip.

"Have a good trip. Send a postcard. Be careful." Emma whispered into her ear.

"Careful means cautious. Cautious means... not fun." Alexia protested, pulling away so Emma could see the look of disgust on her face. Emma sighed.

"Well, try to find a happy medium, huh?" She asked and gained a nod in response.

"Sure, _mom_." Alexia said sarcastically. Emma hit her shoulder and shook her head; she doubted her being the more mature sister had just suddenly happened when Henry was born. She'd always been the older sister in her mind.

Alexia opened her arms to Henry and he ran to hug her, burying his face in her stomach. He was too big now for her to hold him by his ankles and command him to like what she liked, but he was still short compared to the two of them. Emma just hated how big he'd gotten already. She'd never understood why other moms had wanted them to stop growing, especially when she'd heard it during the Terrible Twos. But now she understood perfectly. Nine was way too old for her baby boy to be. Alexia hugged him tightly and waited for him to pull away, but he didn't let go.

"Henry, she's gotta go." Emma reminded him gently.

"But I don't want her to." Henry complained, tightening his grip on her waist. Emma sighed and stepped forward to pull him off, but Alexia squirmed out of his grip by herself, enough to kneel down in front of him instead.

"I'll send letters telling you everything I do." She promised. Henry didn't meet her eyes, looking down at her knees instead. "And pretty postcards and souvenirs." She added, trying to get him excited. He said nothing.

"Henry, she'll be back." Emma reminded him, kneeling down as well to rub his back comforting. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel the same way. She had never been without her sister for more than a day. Henry had never had to go a night without her hugging him goodnight or a morning without her waking him up and hauling him out of bed while Emma made breakfast. Emma was going to miss her just as much, but she didn't want to guilt trip Alexia into staying. If her sister felt she needed go on some mystic spirit quest than, by God, Emma was going to let her. She'd come back. That was what real family did: they never left for good.

"And you can tell me all about the comics I miss and the new movie news and video game levels you've beaten." Alexia gushed and Emma could see her resolve to leaving cracking. Emma acted quickly.

"Henry, any time she's got cell service, you can call her and talk as long as you want. It'll be like she's right there."

"No, it won't be." Henry was pouting now. Alexia pulled him into another hug and he rested his chin on her shoulder for a moment.

"I'll be back. Until then, take care of Emma. We both know she needs it." Alexia joked and Emma shot her a half-hearted dirty look.

A car honked outside and Emma hurried to the window to look out. They were on the second floor of the apartment building and she could clearly see a taxi parked out on the curb. She went back over to Henry and Alexia.

"The taxi's here. Henry, give her another hug and then she has to go." Emma put on her firm mom-voice that usually made Henry obey. He hesitated, as if weighing his options, but then hurried to do just that. Alexia squeezed him back and then stood up, shouldering her bag again.

"Let's walk her out." Emma compromised, seeing Henry was about to have a melt-down.

The two of them walked her out to the taxi and by the time Alexia got there, she was practically vibrating again. Emma laughed as she waved, yelled her goodbyes and just about threw herself into the back seat of the cab. It pulled away from the curb and Henry watched it go. Emma felt her own heart clench; her sister was really gone. She tried to remind herself of what she'd told Henry: they could talk on the phone and she'd send them letters and postcards and she'd come back soon enough. Still, she couldn't bring herself to smile, even for Henry's sake. Instead, she steered him back inside the apartment building; it was too cold to be standing there in pajamas anyway.

"Come on, kid." She led him back up the stairs. "You can take over her side of the room and go through her stuff if you want." She offered; she knew Alexia wouldn't mind Henry reading some of her comic books or novels she kept in stacks around the room. Henry shrugged without commitment. Emma sighed again and gave him a push to make him move a little faster. There was nothing more to say; they'd just have to wait.

* * *

 _Miyajima, Japan_

 _Six months later:_

A warm breeze rustled Alexia's hair as she laid on top of her sleeping bag, watching the crackling fire she'd started about a foot away. She had forgone taking a tent wherever she camped; claustrophobia and freedom didn't mix. When she'd last talked to Emma and Henry, she'd mentioned her night of sleeping in the rain and they'd promptly decided she was crazy. But she liked the open air and the exciting possibility of having to ride out a storm in nothing but a sleeping bag.

The air carried the scent of fresh earth, flowers and the burning wood. She loved it; it was a much better scent than the trash and junk food in Boston. Although, ordering a pizza did sound good at that moment. Granola bars and sandwiches were getting a little old, she'd admit.

She reached out and played with a leaf that had fallen near her head. Sleep wasn't coming to her, but she was okay with that. She was content to just lie there and enjoy nature. Emma would've gone crazy by now, were their positions reversed. Alexia vowed to take Henry camping sometime after she got back and leave Emma in their comfortable, heated apartment.

All of a sudden, the sensation of being watched hit Alexia. She sat up and whirled around to find a man sitting behind her. A curse left her mouth and she scrambled to her feet.

The man just motioned for her to sit back down.

"I'm just here to talk."

"In the middle of the night, to a girl all along in the middle of a Japanese forest?" Alexia demanded, brushing her hair out of her face. He smiled gently and moved to sit down closer to the fire. Alexia studied him for a moment while he merely watched the fire, letting her watch him.

He was tall, with dark skin and short dark hair. He had that good-boy look, the kind of person that was expected to be the moral, wise guide in times of trouble. He barely looked any older than her, but there was an older feeling about him. Most importantly, he had an overwhelming aura around him that was calming and safe. Alexia found herself trusting him despite the situation. Emma was definitely going to call her crazy.

But Alexia moved to sit next to him, crossing her legs underneath her. Their knees bumped but he said nothing about it when he spoke:

"This is an interesting place to be."

"Says the guy that also came here."

"What is you say now? Touche? Touche." He nodded, smiling over at her. She smiled back and leaned forward to feed another stick into the fire.

"So what did you want to talk about?" She questioned.

"I bring a warning."

"Oh?" She should've been alarmed. Random dude came out of nowhere to deliver a warning? It should've been alarming. But she wasn't scared; she looked over at him, giving him her full attention. He turned to meet her eyes as well, looking very serious.

"One day, you will have the chance to save your sister from a dark fate. You must let her take it on by herself."

"Why?" Alexia could slapped herself; of all the questions going through her head, she decided to go with 'why'?

"Because if you try to save her, it will only cause you and those around you pain. It is a dark path you cannot handle."

"But-."

"Just remember. You must let Emma take it on by herself. Do not try and save her." He continued to stare into her eyes for another couple seconds and Alexia found she couldn't look away, or even ask another stupid question. "The fire is going out."

Alexia turned, stupidly, to look. The fire was fine. She turned back to the man, but he was gone. Alexia scrambled to her feet and looked around, but she was completely alone. She sank back onto her sleeping bag, suddenly exhausted, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **A/N That's the last chapter before we hit 2011 in their timeline, which I think you all remember as the year season 1 starts. It's another couple chapters before they are actually in Storybrooke but it is fast approaching and then we'll get into an alternate season 1.**

 **I hope you liked that chapter. Like I've said before, reviews are well loved and very welcomed so I hope you take a few seconds to let me know what you think.**

 **~ RoniMikaelson**


	5. Ages of Glory

**_Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I do not own_**

 ** _A/N I was going to have another chapter focusing on Alexia's quest where she goes to Hong Kong and meets The Dragon, but that chapter was not working at all, even after several rewrites and attempts to make it acceptable to myself. So I scrapped it and that cuts Alexia's journey short, but it does bring us closer to Storybrooke!_**

 ** _I hope you guys like this chapter, even if it's not what I wanted to do. Like always, reviews would be great!_**

* * *

 _August 25th, 2011, Boston:_

A kid's tenth birthday, as Emma understood it, was pretty important. They were double digits, practically adults! Well, not even close in Emma's mind but she could almost understand why it was important to kids. Henry was excited, but still, Emma could tell that there was something he wanted more than the action figures and video games on his wish list.

She said nothing about it as she put his stack of wrapped presents on the table in front of him. Henry started to reach for them, but remembered the rule and settled for staring at them longingly. Emma left him there to get the cake from the kitchen. She wasn't a baker, so she'd gotten him a pre-made one at the store.

Her phone buzzed with a text and she glanced down at the screen, reading the text and smiling before tucking it back into her pocket. She went back out to Henry and set the cake in the middle of the table. He perked up even more at the sight and she smiled at him.

"Before we dig in, there's something I want to show you." Henry tore his eyes away from the table to look at her in confusion. Emma just smiled and walked over to the front door, unlocking it and pulling it open.

Alexia stood on the other side, grinning, and Henry ran to hug her with an excited shout of 'Aunt Al!'. She hurried into the apartment and met him halfway with arms wide open. Emma shut the door and went to get a hug of her own from her sister. Alexia had been gone for ten months and Emma, as mature as she would, would've thrown a fit if Alexia had ended up canceling her plan to come home. The fact that she was in time for Henry's birthday was only partially planned, although it had definitely just made his special day even more special for him.

As Alexia and Henry pulled away from each other, Emma pulled her sister into a tight hug. Alexia had flown back from England and she still smelled like saltwater and fresh air. Her hair had grown out again, the 'adventurous' bob was back to the long waves, a few shades lighter due to her time in the sun. Her skin was much more tan, with a healthy glow. Her black Body-Con dress was partially covered with an old loose top and she had matched it with sneakers, but she still looked nice to Emma. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed just _seeing_ her sister every day. She hung onto the hug, even though Henry was bouncing around them with questions. She just needed a minute to make up for the hugs she hadn't gotten while Alexia was gone.

After that minute was up, the sisters pulled away from each other. Henry was tugging on Alexia's arm and he managed to get her bag off her shoulder and run over to throw it none-too-gently on the couch. They laughed in unison as Henry ran back over and grabbed Alexia's hand to tug her towards the kitchen table instead.

"Come on, you're just in time for cake!"

"Oh, good, I'm starving." Alexia admitted, brushing her hair back and sitting down next to Henry at the table.

"What have you been eating, Ben Grills? Bugs and snake meat?" Emma teased, grabbing a knife from the kitchen and going to cut the cake before the two dug in with their bare hands.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Alexia shot back sarcastically. "I've been eating food appropriate to the culture, thank you very much. Because I'm a cultured person." Emma snorted at that as she cut into the cake. She wouldn't describe her sister as 'cultured' but, then again, maybe her sister was different than she remembered. People weren't the same coming back from a self-discovery quest, Emma reasoned. Though she'd never personally known anyone who had done what Alexia had done, so she wasn't sure on the details.

Emma served the first piece to Henry and then handed another plate off to Alexia, who was more excited about it than the ten-year-old. After she got her own sizable piece, she sat down and they dug in.

"So how are you?" Emma questioned. She had asked her sister that every time they'd talked over the phone, but Emma felt like her built-in lie-detector didn't work as well when she could see the person she was questioning. Alexia swallowed a chunk of cake and grinned.

"Awesome." She wasn't lying.

"Where'd you go, where'd you go? How was it? Did you bring me back anything?" Henry talked a mile-a-minute, along with his mouth full of cake. Emma shot him a stern look.

"Henry." He quickly swallowed.

"Sorry."

"I did bring you back something, but you threw my bag over there and it's so far." Alexia made a feeble gesture towards the couch and grinned triumphantly when he announced, loudly, "I'll get it" and ran to do just that. Emma leaned across the table to grab her sister's hand and squeeze it quickly.

"I'm glad you're back."

"Me too." Alexia whispered. Emma sat back against her chair as Henry returned with her bag, which he dumped onto Alexia's lap. She shoved her half-empty plate away and unzipped it to start rummaging through whatever she had in there. Henry grabbed another forkful of cake to shovel into his mouth while he waited.

Alexia dumped clothes onto the floor as she went through her packed bag. She had more books than Emma remembered her taking, which was expected. Emma just hoped she'd learned how to read French during her travels or buying a few of those books was going to have been a waste.

"Oh, Emma, this is for you." Alexia tugged out a leather jacket and handed it over. Emma took it and tried it on for size; it fit perfectly. It was black, not her favorite red, but it was much better quality. "The Italians know their leather." Alexia added and Emma thanked her wholeheartedly; she never would've guessed she'd get a leather jacket from _Italy_ even a year ago.

Alexia pulled out a box and handed it over to Henry, who took it gently, like it was the Holy Grail. It was a boxed model car and not a cheap kind. Emma could clearly see 'Made In London' on the box. Henry set it on the table, eyes wide.

"Thank you!"

"No problem, kid." Alexia shoved her bag off her lap onto the pile of clothes on the floor and held up another object: a stuffed animal in the shape of a cat with a ridiculous expression on its face. "From Japan!" She told them excitedly.

"That is the creepiest thing I have ever seen." Emma informed her; she didn't want to wake up to _that_ looking at her in the middle of the night. Alexia frowned and looked at it.

"No, it's not."

"Oh, yes, yes it is." Emma chuckled.

The rest of the night was spent celebrating, both Henry's tenth birthday and Alexia's return home. Emma couldn't help but notice that her sister was... different. In a good way. She was happier, quicker witted, confident with herself. Emma loved it, because it felt natural for Alexia to be that way. Henry opened his other presents and immediately got to work on his newest Assassin's Creed game while the girls talked about Alexia's adventure.

"So, besides finding out you can't learn Japanese... Did you figure out who you are?" Emma questioned. They were sitting in their bedroom, the door ajar so they could hear Henry whooping in excitement any time he made a particularly violent kill. Ema was already starting to regret her choice of video games for him. Wasn't there a bunch of articles online saying _not_ to get young kids games that encouraged violence?

"I think I have a better idea." Alexia agreed; she was stretched out on her bed, propped up on her elbow to look at Emma. "Traveling was fun but I needed to come back here more than I realized." She added with a content sigh.

"Good. We missed you here." Emma told her sincerely; the apartment hadn't felt like home since she'd left. "So did you discover anything exciting?"

"New foods. Lots of new people. Camping was fun. Um..." Alexia racked her brain. "I think I met my spirit guide, who was cute. But that was probably a dream, come to think of it. Oh, I tried seafood, finally. I hate it. That's never happening again. Fish need to stay in the sea." Emma laughed as her sister's little speech while Alexia swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up.

"What's up?" Emma asked at her sudden move.

"Tell me everything I missed."

"Not much. Boston's pretty boring." Emma shrugged; their home was nothing compared to what he sister must've seen in Europe. She sat up as well. Their beds were close enough together that they could kick playfully at each others feet from where they sat. "I was thinking of another move, actually." She added as she remembered.

They had always moved around. Maybe, Emma realized, she was on her own little self-discovery quest that just took much, much longer. There were some places that were homey, but nothing that felt definitively like _home._ Neal had once said that you know when you're home because, when you leave, you just miss it. Emma had never had that feeling, Henry rarely had any reason for staying one place and of course Alexia was always up for roaming a little longer. They'd promised each other that if Henry's schooling started going downhill or he was really involved in a community, they'd stop moving. But Henry's grades were nothing but A's no matter which school he was in and he'd never been one to get involved in anything, despite Emma trying to encourage him to. There was no solid, logical reason for moving out of Boston. But there was no solid, logical reason for staying either, beyond the obvious 'they were already there' reason that they didn't bring up. Just because they were someplace didn't mean they were duty-bound to stay there; they'd never lived by any such rule, anyway.

"Where?" Alexia perked up like a little kid and Emma smiled at the expression on her face.

"South Portland. It's up in Maine. Sounds like a good place." Emma explained.

"How far?"

"About two hours drive-time."

"Perfect. When do we leave?" Alexia stood up, as if to go get in the car. Emma laughed.

"Not yet. Remember the whole process of scouting out an apartment, finishing up jobs here and packing?" Alexia frowned and Emma realized that, for the last ten months, her sister had done nothing of the sort. She felt like the older sister then more than ever; Alexia obviously hadn't been acting like an adult much in the last year.

"Oh." Alexia sat back down on her bed.

"I'll talk it over with Henry too." Emma added and her sister nodded in agreement, rolling over onto her side and snuggling into her bed. Emma wondered how many times she'd been able to sleep in an actual bed during her journey. Without thinking, she stood up and walked over to lie down next to her. Alexia scooted over to make room and they lied side-by-side, staring up at the plain white ceiling above.

"Maybe Maine will be home." Alexia said wistfully.

"Maybe..."

* * *

 _October 22nd, 2011_

Of all the things to do on her birthday, Emma regretted doing her job and going on a mock-date with Ryan. He was a jerk, though she never expected her targets to be model citizens. She tried not to stomp as she made her way into the apartment, wobbling slightly in too high heels. The tight dress she'd borrowed from Alexia hugged her in all the wrong places. Sweatpants and a tank top had never sounded better.

As she kicked off her heels in the front hallway, she leaned against a precariously balanced stack of boxes. They'd packed everything up and would have shippers ship it out to their new apartment once they got to South Portland. Tugging down the hem of her dress again, wondering why her _taller_ sister had a dress that small, she walked into the main part of the apartment.

At the kitchen counter, Henry was putting star-shaped candles on top of cupcakes while Alexia poured hot chocolate into three mugs she had to have dug out of boxes. When Henry saw her, he grinned and waved her over excitedly.

"Happy birthday, mom!"

"Thanks, kid. Let me change first." Emma told them, tugging down the hem of the dress again.

"Hurry up. I'm hungry." Alexia called after her as she went into the bedroom. Emma made a lazy motion of agreement over her shoulder and shut the door behind her. Their clothes were packed up as well, but she dug out another outfit from her duffel bag to change into. She momentarily considering just tossing the dress out, but decided to stuff it into the bag anyway. Alexia liked that dress and Emma would never hear the end of it if it got tossed out.

Dressed more comfortably in jeans and a sweater, Emma hurried back out to the kitchen. Alexia was just finishing sprinkling cinnamon on top of towers of whipped cream in their mug of hot chocolate. Emma took the mug her sister offered and scooped up some of the cream with her finger and licked it off.

Henry had gotten the packet of matches and lit the two matching candles in two of the three cupcakes. Alexia set down her own mug, wiped off her whipped cream mustache and took one of the cupcakes. She held it up like a glass at a toast and Henry and Emma copied her gesture in amusement.

"To being twenty-eight." Alexia said grandly. "And ten." She added for Henry's sake, who smiled.

"To being that much closer to thirty." Emma said, only slightly bitter. Off Alexia's look, Emma added: "To a new home."

"To you guys!" Henry finished the toast and the three of them bumped their cupcakes together. The sisters blew out the candles and the three of them dug into the treats.

The plan was a quick celebration and then they'd hit the road for South Portland. They already had the first month's rent paid for an apartment up there and Alexia was researching jobs she might be interested in. It was less than two hours away and it was only six-thirty at it was. None of them were keen on going to bed early but they did love sleeping in, so driving up at night seemed like a good option to everyone involved.

After they finished their cupcakes and hot chocolate, Henry offered to wash the mugs and pack them back up and they allowed it. They exchanged gifts quickly while Henry did so. Alexia had gotten Emma a new top. Emma gave her a 'World's Okay-ist Sister' coffee mug. Henry had given them cards that morning and that was as far as the gift-giving went, per usual. Birthdays, in another life, would probably have been Alexia's favorite time of year. But after a childhood where birthdays were ignored... Old habits die hard.

Henry 'the man of the house' Swan carried an armload of bags out to the car, with Emma following to get the doors. Alexia shoved the other bags into the hallway to collect on her way out and started turning off lights. She waited for a moment, just to see if that feeling of missing the apartment would hit her. Nope. She was good. She turned on her heel, grabbed the rest of their bags and left. She locked up the apartment on her way out, put the key under the mat and went to join Emma and Henry in the car.

The yellow bug was the only car they'd ever had. Henry still fit in the back-seat, though Alexia couldn't imagine he had much leg room. Maybe getting another car would be smart, but it seemed wrong to get rid of the yellow bug. Emma loved very few material objects in life and the car was one of them.

Alexia climbed into the passenger seat and shut the door behind her. Emma was in the driver's seat, per usual. There wasn't any sort of rule about only Emma driving the car, but it always ended up being Emma behind the wheel. Henry was in the back-seat, reading a book by the light of a flashlight. After Alexia put on her seat-belt, she reached over to nudge the book up to glance at the cover in the dim light of the parking garage. _The 39 Clues._

"Acceptable." She decided and sat back against her seat. Henry ignored her, but Emma laughed.

"And if it wasn't?"

"He had to read a book of my choosing."

"You're controlling." Emma muttered, pulling out the parking garage. Alexia gave her a look of mock-hurt.

"I'm caring. I only want him to read acceptable books."

"By British authors."

"Can't go wrong with a good story and a guy with an accent."

"You like guys with accents now?" Emma wasn't surprised, in all honesty. That seemed like a very Alexia-thing to like.

"American boys just don't do it for me anymore..." Alexia shrugged. She'd had quite a few boyfriends in the past. None of them had worked for more than three months, few had may it past the front door to actually meet Henry and Emma usually ordered back-ground checks on all of them the second she knew their name.

Emma herself wasn't much of a dater. Alexia had encouraged her to try and get in a relationship but she never had. She'd accepted some set up dates and gone for drinks but no man had ever lasted more than a night. Emma defended herself saying the only male she needed in her life was Henry, but Alexia knew she couldn't hide behind that defense forever.

As they got onto the freeway, Alexia pulled up a map on her phone and propped her feet up on the dash. Emma calmly drove on, waiting for when instructions would be needed. After a minute, Alexia turned on the radio and a Katy Perry song came blasting out through the speakers. Henry's groan could be heard in the back seat. Alexia grinned and started singing along, nudging Emma and getting her to do the same amid Henry's comments about embarrassing women.

And that was how they left Boston: singing Firework at the top of their lungs for the sole purpose of annoying the ten year old in the back seat.


	6. A Place Called Storybrooke

**_Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I do not own_**

 _ **A/N It's been a while and I fell behind on writing, but here's a fairly long chapter for you guys. It's kind of boring, but it's leading up to the Storybrooke plot lines. I hope you enjoy**_

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right road?"

"Ninety percent sure, yeah."

"Alexia, I haven't seen any signs for a good ten miles. We're on some sort of back-road."

"So?"

"So, I think you're reading the map wrong."

"I'm not reading the map wrong. I relied solely on maps for-."

"Ten months while I traveled all over England, Europe and Japan." Emma finished mockingly, raising her voice's pitch to try and match her sister's for an extra jab. In the backseat, Henry laughed. Alexia shot her sister a look and turned back to her phone.

"We're fine." She insisted stubbornly.

"Alexia-." Emma went back to her normal voice, trying to make sure they didn't end up at some dead-end because her sister was getting upset.

"We're fine."

"Can I see?" Henry leaned forward and stuck his head in between their shoulders.

"Do you know how to read a map, kid?" Emma asked questioningly.

"I can figure it out." His voice took the same stubborn tone Alexia's had just a moment before and Emma rolled her eyes. She liked to compare Henry's traits to only her and Alexia, hoping to never see Neal in him. It was pretty easy to compare him to Alexia at times like that.

"Just keep going and take the next right." Alexia put in.

"I don't think there's going to be a 'next right'." Emma protested, squinting out the windshield. The headlights partially illuminated the road, but it was much different that driving in the city, like she was used to. Henry leaned even forward even further to look at Alexia's phone and Emma took one hand off the wheel to nudge him back. "Sit back, kid. And put on your seat belt!" She scolded; how many times had she told him not to take off his seat belt while the car was moving?

"Sorry." He mumbled and she heard the clicking of the belt.

"Wait, maybe it's the next left." Alexia murmured and Emma took her eyes off the road to look at her.

"Alexia-."

"What? This map is not making sense all of a sudden!" She defended herself. Emma took one hand off the wheel again to grab at the phone.

"Give it to me." She ordered, but Alexia flattened herself against the door and tried to keep it out of her reach.

"I got it!"

"Just let me look!"

"You're driving!"

"Alexia-." Emma turned to look at her, hoping to be able to simply steal the phone. They should've been in South Portland already and she couldn't even see any city lights in the distance, which meant they were pretty far off course. She wasn't looking forward to running out of gas on some back-road to nowhere in the middle of the night with two people who obviously didn't know how to read a map.

Emma grabbed at the phone, but Alexia held just barely out of her reach, craning her neck so she could continue to look at it. Emma leaned over and snatched it out of her sister's hands, with Alexia trying to grab it back and the whole ordeal ending with the phone getting knocked to the floor.

"Great job." They said unison. Emma turned back to the road just in time to see a wolf standing in the middle of it. She slammed on the brakes and swerved on instinct; the car slid on the road and the last thing she saw was a giant sign right in front of the car.

* * *

Alexia had never been beat about the head and shoulders with a brick, but she could imagine what it felt like pretty vividly as she woke up. She blinked against the bright lights above her and turned her head, feeling as though her brain shifted inside her skull with the movement. She saw plain white walls, an empty plastic chair and a vase of dying flowers. She could take a wild guess and say she was in a hospital, but that didn't answer any questions that were flying through her aching head.

She pushed herself onto her elbows, watched as the room spun and then managed to focus on her eyes. The room was empty and the kind of quiet that made it seem loud in her ears. She was no expert on hospital protocol but she was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to just get up and walk out. Well, she was never great at following the rules of society.

Alexia pulled off the sticky attachments to the heart rate monitor and had a brief moment of irritation as she realized they'd taken her clothes and put her in some gosh-awful hospital gown. She just hoped it was done by female nurses. As she pulled off the last attachment, the heart rate monitor flat-lined. She grimaced; that was one way to get a doctor into the room.

Sure enough, it was less than thirty seconds later when a male doctor came hurrying into the room. He was in his thirties, by her estimate, with dirty blond hair. He sighed when he saw her, as if he'd expected her to be a problem.

"Oh, you're awake." He said in an almost bored tone. "I'm Doctor Whale."

"Where's Emma and Henry?" She demanded, then grimaced when she remembered he probably didn't know names yet. "My sister and nephew."

"Well, the cute blonde's in jail and the kid's over in the Children's Ward." Dr. Whale made a lazy motion over his shoulder and clicked his pen loudly, looking down at his clipboard. "How are you feeling? You've been in and out of it for the better part of two hours."

"Is Henry okay? Why is Emma in jail?" She asked, ignoring his question. He sighed and put his clipboard down at the end of the bed.

"Your... sister, is it? She was probably drunk; Sheriff Graham is looking into it."

"Emma wasn't drunk." Alexia ground out, closing her eyes. Her eyes were tiring out and she was getting fed up with Dr. Whale already. "She's been with me the whole night. The only thing she'd had to drink tonight was hot chocolate. She knew she'd be driving with her kid in the backseat, okay? So unless hot chocolate is suddenly alcoholic-."

"Hey, take it up with the Sherriff." Dr. Whale told her, unconcerned.

"What about Henry?" Alexia refocused, opening her eyes to look at the doctor again.

"He's up in the Children's Ward." He repeated. "Broken arm. We've got a cast going on now. He'll be fine."

Alexia let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She was suffering from a head injury, Henry had a broken arm and Emma was in jail... But all those things could be fixed with a little time and honesty. She tried to focus her thoughts on the most pressing matter and decided that Henry was most pressing. Emma, in jail or not, would've agreed, Alexia was sure.

"Where is he? I'm going to go see him." She swung her legs over the side of the bed before the doctor could stop her and started to stand up. The room spun and she ended up on her knees on the cold floor, holding onto the edge of the bed to stay that much upright. Dr. Whale hurried over and grabbed her arm, helping her back onto the bed.

"Just wait a minute." He cautioned, his tone slightly more professional than bored. "You have a concussion." He explained, taking a pen light and shining it in her eyes. She blinked and tried to look away, but he was already done. He clicked it off and stuffed it back into his pocket.

"Is that bad?" Alexia asked. She knew what a concussion was, but she couldn't remember side-effects beyond pain for the life of her.

"I'd expect to experience tiredness, headaches, slowness in thinking or focusing, changes in sleep pattern, nausea, sensitivity to light, sound or distractions, blurred vision-." He began listing everything off like he was reading it off the internet.

"For how long?" She cut him off.

"A couple days, maybe a week." He didn't sound annoyed she'd interrupted him; in fact, he didn't seem thrilled to be having this conversation with her either, like he had more important things to do. She rubbed her temples and focused on him again.

"Let me go see my nephew." He looked at her for a moment, as if debating it in his head.

"Fine." He finally agreed. "Should we get a wheelchair for-?"

"No, I'm fine." She got off the bed again, swayed, but managed to keep her balance. He watched her for another minute and then shrugged.

"Your clothes are over there. I'll do my round and be back in a minute." He walked out of the room and closed it behind him. She walked over to the clothes left folded on a chair and hurriedly pulled on her jeans and halter top. She sat down and fumbled with her boot laces before she managed to tie them up again.

By the time she was about to go find Henry herself, Dr. Whale returned, motioned for her to follow him and led her out of the room. She followed him at a slower pace, keeping her hand on the wall beside her in case her brain decided to throw the room into a washing machine cycle again.

One clock on the wall said it was ten-thirty at night. Had the night gone as planned, they should've been in South Portland getting ready to go to bed for the night. Somehow, Alexia doubted they'd be at their new home for a while yet.

The hospital was small, with only a few people walking around. She figured it must've been a small town, though she couldn't remember any towns on the map. Although, granted, the online map hadn't exactly done wonders for them.

"Where are we?" She asked Dr. Whale as he led them down another short hallway.

"Storybrooke Hospital."

"Storybrooke?" She echoed.

"Yep." He said nothing else, merely pushed open a door and led her inside. Henry was sitting on a hospital bed, his right arm in a red cast up to his elbow, his baseball shirt sleeve rolled up to allow it. A woman with short black hair had pulled up a plastic chair and was talking about him with a smile. As they came in, Henry looked up and spotted Alexia instantly. He jumped off the bed and ran over, with Alexia meeting him halfway with a hug. He wrapped his good arm around her waist and buried his face in her stomach.

"I'll have a nurse send in the release forms, if you can sign those?" Dr. Whale questioned. Alexia nodded in agreement as she smoothed down Henry's hair.

"I can." She and Emma had a shared custody agreement of him, like two parents would. Emma wanted to make sure that, if anything ever happened to her, there wold be no reason for Henry _not_ to stay with Alexia. Plus, that would ensure no one tried to find Neal and try to place Henry with him.

Dr. Whale left the room, pulling the door shut behind him. As it clicked shut, Alexia kneeled down in front of Henry to look him in the eyes.

"Are you alright? Does your arm hurt?" He shrugged.

"A little. I'm okay." He mumbled.

The short-haired woman stood up from her chair and walked over slowly, as if hesitant to interrupt. Alexia stood up to greet her, absentmindedly noting that she was a few inches taller than the stranger. The woman was dressed in a flowered dress and pink cardigan and, with her small features, she reminded Alexia of a pixie.

"I'm Mary-Margaret. You're Henry's mother?"

"Aunt." Alexia corrected automatically; that wasn't the first time she'd had that conversation with someone. "Alexia Swan." They shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Swan."

"Please, Alexia. Miss Swan is my sister." Alexia told her, pulling Henry against her side to hug him again. Mary-Margaret chuckled.

"Alright. I'm very impressed with your nephew. He hasn't complained a bit and has quite the literary knowledge." Henry smiled proudly and Alexia ruffled his hair.

"Are you a nurse here?" She asked.

"Oh, no." Mary-Margaret waved off the suggestion like it was silly. "I just volunteer. Cheer the patients up. I was about to head home when they brought you two in and I just couldn't leave Henry here sitting by himself, with a broken arm no less. I hope you don't mind me sitting with him." She added the last part quickly, as if she expected to be rebuked for it.

"Not at all. Thank you."

"Is your sister okay? I haven't heard anything about her."

"Yeah, where's mom?" Henry asked hurriedly, looking up at Alexia with wide, worried eyes.

"She's not here. She got arrested for 'drunk driving'." Alexia made air quotes with her fingers to show her disbelief. Henry frowned and Mary-Margaret looked at Alexia with wide eyes, but said nothing.

"Mom wasn't drunk." Henry protested.

"I know that. You know that. Emma knows that. No one else does. So once we get those discharge papers, we need to get the car and head down there to slap some sense into the Sherriff." Alexia informed him and he nodded, looking ready to help her do the slapping.

"I don't think they brought your car here." Mary-Margaret put in and Alexia grimaced, closing her eyes and trying to refocus her thoughts on a new plan. They could walk, she supposed, but that didn't sound like a good idea at all. Granted, neither did driving when lights, sounds and distractions were going to give her migraines, but she'd figured she could manage for a couple miles.

"Are you okay, Aunt Al?" Henry asked, tugging on her top with his free hand. She nodded wordlessly, but didn't open her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Mary-Margaret asked in a soft tone Alexia was reminded of Emma when she was taking care of a sick Henry. It was a mother thing, Alexia decided, although Mary-Margaret looked a little young to have a kid as old as Henry. Then again, she was their age and they had Henry...

"Yeah. Headache." Alexia explained. The situation wasn't helping either.

The door opened again and the nurse came in with a stack of forms. Alexia suppressed a groan; couldn't they just give Henry a sticker and send them on their way? Reading was another thing she didn't look forward to at that moment. The nurse noticed her face, gave her a sympathetic look and then left her with the papers.

Mary-Margaret turned to Henry.

"Would you like to play a game while she handles those? We can play tic-tac-toe if you want."

"Okay!" Henry agreed with a smile and Mary-Margaret went to get a notepad out of her purse on the floor.

Alexia signed all the papers, surprising herself with her speed. A minute after she'd finished, she couldn't tell anyone what she'd just signed, but at the time she'd understood everything. There was a signed prescription for pain medication for Henry that she folded up and put in her pocket. Emma wasn't going to be happy with herself when she found out about the broken arm, Alexia realized. Well, they were fighting with each other over a phone, so Alexia could take half the blame. _My phone,_ she thought, and patted down her pockets. The phone was still in the car, somewhere on the floor. She let out a groan.

"Something wrong?" Mary-Margaret looked up at the sound as Henry fumbled to draw an X on the page with his non-dominant hand.

"My phone's still in the car, which is who knows where..." Alexia explained.

"Would you like to borrow mine?"

"No, thanks. I think we'll just walk over to the police station and try and bail my sister out."

"Oh, alright." Mary-Margaret looked like she wanted to say something else and Alexia raised an eyebrow, silent questioning the look. "I don't mean to be a nag, but are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'll walk it off. Thanks for staying with him." Alexia stood up and was pleasantly surprised when she was able to stay upright on the first try. She offered her hand to Henry and he grabbed it with his good hand and hopped off the bed again. Mary-Margaret collected her things and walked out with them to the front desk.

"I guess I'll be heading home. Oh, it is late." Mary-Margaret looked at the clock in surprise. "I guess time flies when you're having fun. Have a good night, Henry, Miss Swan... Sorry, Alexia." They echoed her wishes and she waved before hurrying off.

Alexia handed the discharge papers to the woman at the front desk and got cleared to go. When she turned around, Henry wasn't beside her. She looked around, panic gripping her for a split second, before she spotted him looking into one of the rooms with an all glass wall. She walked over and steered him away, glancing at the unconscious man inside for only a moment.

"Come on, Henry, let's go get your mom."


End file.
